Nick Wright's Top 50 NBA Players of the Last 50 Years #7-6: Larry Bird & Kobe Bryant

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will they come? Number seven is a guy whose apex was one of the five best apexes we've seen in NBA history, So why is he number seven and not higher? Came into the league a little old left the league a little early, but while he was there, from the moment he stepped on the court, was one of the best players in the league and stayed like that for a full decade. Number seven Larry Bird. So here's Larry Bird top line of the resume. Nine times First Team

All NBA, one time second Team All NBA. He is a three time MVP and those MVPs came in three consecutive years. The only person eligible for this list to win three MVPs in a row. The only others to do it, ever, are Wilt and Russell, and those guys are too old for the list. By the way, from his rookie year to nineteen eighty eight, he was top four MVP voting all nine seasons, and the way it went for him was he had three straight second place

finishes followed by three straight first place finishes. So from a six year stretch of eighty one to eighty six, not only did his team win the title, well two of the From the nineteen eighty finals, how about that nineteen eighty finals to the end of the eighty six season, Larry Bird collected three league MVPs, two finals MVPs, three second place finishes. And three championships. He's three time All Defense. He invented the fifty to forty ninety club and he

did it twice. And he's one of only three guys in the last fifty years to average at least twenty four and ten for his career. The other two are Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Karl Malone. Everyone remembers Larry Bird, the iconic scorer, you know, the first true great deep shooter of any era, because he came into the league around the advent of three point line. Didn't shoot, you know, ten percent is when he threes. This guys shoot today. But he was the first star player that it was

truly a weapon. For what I think younger folks don't understand is was an exceptional rebounder, averaging ten rebounds a game for his career and one of the greatest passers ever. His court vision was in the eighties, surpassed only by Magic and Isaiah. That's it. So that's Larry Bird top line resume stuff. Now we will get to the playoffs, as we do with everybody on this list. At this point of the list, we must go year by year by year. So in the playoffs again, top line, three

time champ, two time finals, MVP, five time finalists. So let's just start with his rookie season nineteen eighty his rookie year to close out his first playoff series ever thirty four, ten and seven to beat Moses Malone and Houston. That is his first playoff series ever, thirty four, ten and seven. He averaged twenty two, fourteen and four in a round two loss to Doctor J and Philly, and had thirty one and twelve in the Celtics only win

of that series. So that's Larry Bird. Couple interesting things that you're gonna hear there. One is, wait, Houston was in the East. They were in the East. There were some weird geographical alignments in the early eighties. But also the guy averaged it is twenty two, fourteen and four as a rookie in round two against Doctor J in eighteen eighty one, his first championship. How does he get there?

We already mentioned guys on this list that were on that team, Kevin McHale, but McHale was barely a contributor on this team. Tinyn eight Archibald was an important contributor on this team, but the best player on this team,

without question was Larry Bird. With respect to Cedric Maxwell, who will get to well, we won't get to on the list, but was an important part of the finals nineteen eighty one averages twenty four to thirteen and seven in a round one sweep of Chicago in the Eastern Conference Finals, again against Philly, the team that knocked him out last year. Year two, Larry Bird averages in the Eastern Conference Finals twenty seven, thirteen and five, avenging the

previous year's loss, beating Philly in seven games. By the way, and this is one of my favorite sliding doors moments in NBA history. They're down three to one in that series. They come back and win game five, six and seven. And if you remember our Doctor J discussion, the Celtics won games five, six, and seven by a combined five points. They won those games by two, one and two. If they don't win those games one of those games, Doctor J probably has an extra ring. Larry maybe only has two,

and he's thought of quite differently. So those were critical moments. He's in year two. How did they win them? Game five Larry Bird had facing elimination thirty two, eleven, five, three and two. Game six, he had twenty five sixteen, four, two and two and Game seven twenty three, eleven, five, five and two, and then Game six of the finals against Moses in Houston with the title on the line, had twenty seven, thirteen and five averaged four of the

series fifteen, fifteen and seven. Didn't not win finals MVP. I think that's a pretty questionable one for Larry not to have won it, but he did. Nineteen eighty two, Philly got him back. Doctor J was at this moment, I think, still a better player than Larry Bird. Doctor J was on the downswing and Larry was on the upswing. Was still Doctor J got him back. Bird averaged for the series eighteen points, fourteen rebound, seven assists. They lose

in seven in the Eastern Conference Finals. Nineteen eighty three. Remember Sidney Moncreef. Earlier on the listen, I said most underrated player of the eighties. He was swept by Sidney Montcreef and Milwaukee in round two for the playoffs that year, twenty one points, thirteen rebound, seven assists for the playoff averages. And now we're to the stretch of the three straight MVPs nineteen eighty four wins League MVP for the playoff run as a whole twenty eight points, eleven rebound, six

assists on fifty two percent shooting. Round two against the Nixon Bernard King, another guy on our list, averages thirty eleven and seven, including the playoff game of his life up to that point, Game seven against the Knicks in round two, Larry Bird had thirty nine points, twelve rebounds,

ten assists. In that series. He scored thirty five plus three times the next round, got revenge on Moncreef and the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, and then in the finals against Magic and Kareem and the Lakers twenty nine to twenty one, a twenty nine point twenty one rebound game down to one in Game four to even the series. Followed that up with a thirty four point seventeen rebound game to go up three to two, and

they win the title in seven. He's Finals MVP. They have two overtime wins in that series, so that's one that man another sliding, so two of his first three titles easily could have gone the other way. He averages for the finals twenty seven, fourteen and four nineteen eighty five as the defending champs averages pardon me, thirty five, eleven and six in round one in a sweep of Cleveland.

Again he's the defending champ. Comes into the playoffs League MVP again averages thirty five and eleven with six assists in round one against Cleveland. Against Isaiah and the Pistons in round two, game two to go up two zero, forty two points, ten rebound, six assists, and then forty three, thirteen and five to go up three to two in a critical Game five. They would win in six. They dismantle the Sixers in the Eastern Conference Finals. But that

Lakers team in eighty five, nobody was beating them. The Lakers crush them, and watch crush them is unfair. The Lakers won the series in six games. Third, though, acquitted himself quite nicely twenty four points, nine rebounds, five assists nineteen eighty six. Then we get there what many people, not me, but many people consider the best team ever. It's his third straight League MVP. He's gonna finish it with another finals MVP. They they they sweep the Bulls

in round one. You know he's on that Bulls team, right, Michael Jordan. They swept him in round one, and in Jordan's famous sixty three point double overtime game, Larry had thirty six points, twelve rebounds, eight assists. They beat Dominique in Atlanta in Round two, including twenties while averaging twenty seven points, ten rebounds, seven assists. They sweep Milwaukee in

the Eastern Conference finals. He averages twenty seven points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals, so they're eleven and one en route to the finals. In those finals, they're playing Houston. Remember a team from last week we talked to Houston team that also had Ralph Sampson. He averages in the finals twenty four points, ten rebounds, nine assists is two total assists, shy. I think it was two of averaging a triple double for the finals, something only Lebron would

do later in NBA history. He has twenty nine to twelve in Game six to win the title. So that's the end of his championships. It's not the end of his great playoff moments. Nineteen eighty seven sweeps Jordan again

in round one seems relevant. Thirty two, fourteen and six to finish off that sweep to open round two against Moncreef in Milwaukee forty points, eleven rebounds, seven assists for steals and then to go up three to two or three to one in that series forty two, seven and eight in a double overtime victory, and then in game seven against Milwaukee thirty one to ten in eight. So think about this for a moment. They win the title in nineteen eighty four, they lose in the finals in

nineteen eighty five. They win the title in nineteen eighty six for his league MVP all three years finals MVP twice. Then in nineteen eighty seven, seemingly exhausted, he has a sweeps Jordan in round one, goes seven in round two against a very good Milwaukee team, is a monster in the critical games of the series. It opens the series with a four point game, It has another forty point

game to go off three to one. Then when they lose games five and six, in game seven has thirty one to ten and eight to move on to face Detroit. Against Detroit, they're tied with the Pistons two to two averages thirty six, ten and seven in the final three games to win that series in seven, including in Game seven thirty seven, nine, and nine, So that is four straight trips to the finals in a period where he's winning all the league MVPs. In the finals, once again,

the Lakers were too much. Bird, though played well again twenty four to ten and six for the finals, and that's kind of the end of the road for Boston. It's not the end of the road for Bird, for it has a few other massive moments. Nineteen eighty eight, Detroit beats them after a that seven game war with Dominique, including the the that's the Dominique's most famous game, the game seven loss to Larry where Larry scored two winning in the fourth quarter and they move on. But Detroit

was too much for him. And then in nineteen eighty nine he has bone spurs and back issues, and that's basically the end. So the reason Bird can't be higher is it's really just a ten year run. But what an unbelievable ten year run for his career, twenty four to ten and seven in the playoffs. The only other person to average he averaged twenty four to ten and seven. The only other person in playoff history to average twenty

ten and five is Yannis Yannis. By the way, I think one day We'll probably supplant Larry Bird past Larry Bird, but hasn't yet Larry Bird your seventh greatest player of the last fifty years. Let's go to some Larry Bird callers before we move on.

mean Magic had Kareem and Kobe had Shack. Who did Larry Bird have. I gotta get back to my contribution, right, But Larry and seven.

pretty legendary. Hell, the McDonald's horse commercials with Jordan from the early nineties, those were pretty legendary. Now as far as Jenna's point that he didn't have another all all timer alongside him, that's true. What's also true, though, is he had tiny Nade Archibald for Ring one and Michale. Was that McHale wasn't great. He had perished for basically the entirety of it. He had Walton in eighty six along with McHale. It's not like he didn't have excellent teammates.

Those Celtics teams were great even though they didn't have another super superstar. But I mean McHale was, you know, top thirty five on our list, pretty damn good. And so I think that that is. I think seven is perfectly fair to him, especially when you think of the six guys who are ahead of him, number seven on the list, Larry Bird, number six on the list is a guy. Handful of guys who played against him say no, I actually think he's one of the two greatest players ever.

We'll discuss him next. What's right.

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and raw numbers of this player. It's almost forgotten by some not to mention the fact, oh yeah, he won five championships. You probably will. I guess I could be talking about one of two guys, because there are two guys yet to be named on this list, whose career overlapped with Lebron, whose raw numbers are unbelievable, and who won five championships, And there's gonna be hotly contested who should be ahead of who? Well, I guess we're about

to find out. Number six Kobe Bryant. So Kobe Bryant's totals and frontline resume stuff, let's just get right to it. Eleven times first Team All NBA. That is the second most ever, tied for the second most ever behind only Lebron. Two times second Team All NBA, two time third Team All NBA, fifteen total All NBA teams. That again is tied for the second most ever, behind only Lebron. Now he only has the one league MVP, but eleven times he finished in the top five, So eleven time first

Team All NBA, eleven top five MVP finishes. He is twelve time All Defense. He is a two times scoring champ, including a season where he averaged thirty five points per game. He has the fourth most points in NBA history. And some of these numbers here are just bananas. He's scored at least thirty four hundred and thirty one times in his career. That is five and a half full seasons of thirty point games. That's the fifth most ever. He's scored at least forty won one hundred and twenty two

times in his career. That is the third most ever. He's scored at least fifty twenty five times in his career. That is the third most ever. He's scored at least sixty six times in his career. That is the second most ever. He has obviously the second most points in a game ever, the eighty one point game against Toronto, and then he also has the game against Dallas where he scored sixty three points through three quarters and they asked him, you didn't want to go for seventy, try

for eighty. He's like, no, I'll do that another time, and he did it a few weeks later. So that's the regular season stuff. It's jarring. The postseason stuff, a lot of great some a little bit of bat and Kobe versus Duncan is going to be contested, obviously by virtue of the fact that I haven't put said Duncan's name yet he's ahead of him. One of the deciding factors is Duncan doesn't have as many tough playoff moments

as Kobe. I'm not even holding the teenage Kobe stuff against him, but I don't want to focus on Kobe's tough playoff moments. Instead, six race players last fifty years. Over these next ten minutes, I want to focus on mostly his great playoff moments. He's obviously a five time champion, a seven time finalist, and a two time finals MVP. And just like he is the fourth most regular other season points ever, he is the fourth most playoff points ever. But let's do it like we've done it for everybody,

year by year. So nineteen ninety seven, he's eighteen years old. Eighteen years old, and in round one he is a twenty two point game. Nineteen ninety eight, he's nineteen years old, also as a twenty two point game. But that's about it. Again, he's a literal teenager. You can't hold any He wasn't that good in that Round Lebron game. In the league as a teenager, didn't make playoffs first couple years, we don't know how he would have done. Not fair, But

now we will get to his actual playoffs. Soup nineteen ninety nine, finally a starter, because those first few years he also wasn't a starter. He's playing real minutes and averages as a twenty year old in nineteen ninety nine, twenty point seven rebounds, five assists for the playoffs. They get to Round two, two thousand, his first time in the playoffs as a star, and he played like it in the playoff run. The run to the championship, Kobe

Bryant average twenty one points, four rebounds, four assists. He was the unquestioned second best player on a dominant champion. He had three thirty point games in Round one against Sacramento. He was obviously the passer on the historic Kobe de Shaq Lobb in Game seven against Portland, including in that game twenty five points, eleven rebounds, seven assists. Again, this is Kobe Bryant at twenty one years old on a run to the finals. And here's something that Kobe fans remember,

but I think a lot of other folks don't. Game four of the Finals, so Kobe misses Game three with an injury that he suffered in Game two. He's back in Game four. That game goes to overtime. The series is only two to one. Shack fouls out. Kobe scores eight points in ot finishes with twenty eight for the game and they go up three to one, obviously going to win the championship and to buy the way in Game six, the title clinching game, twenty six points, ten rebounds,

four assists. Two thousand and one, though, is when he fully arrived as a top five player that playoff run in two thousand and one. In the playoff run, he averages twenty nine points, seven rebounds, six assists. He's twenty two years old. Round two against Sacramento Game three thirty six, seven and four, and in Game four to finish off the sweep, plays all forty eight minutes and has forty eight and sixteen. Forty eight and sixteen, twenty two years

old to finish off the sweep of the Kings. Averages for the series thirty five points, nine rebounds, four assists. Opens the next round, so he closed out Sacramento with forty eight, opens the next round with forty five and ten, so that's ninety three points in consecutive playoff games for the one Lakers to eliminate the Spurs that round, he has thirty six, nine and eight. In the finals, he scores thirty three twice, averages for the finals twenty five,

eight and six. The Lakers are fifteen and won that playoffs. Some people think it's the greatest team ever. He was dominant, utterly dominant. He's twenty two years old. He was their second best guy. Like, if you want to know why, well the man how good was Shack during that run? Well? Go look, the Shack numbers are cartoonish during these three years, but that shouldn't overshadow what Kobe did two thousand and

two going for the three peat. Opens the playoffs with the thirty four point game for the playoffs averages twenty seven to six and five. They're kind of coasting until the Western Conference Finals against the Kings, down three to two in that famous Game six. Everybody knows the officiating not great. But in the famous Game six, he has thirty one eleven and five and Game seven, the ot game, the game where Paga air what should have been the game winner. He plays fifty two and a half of

fifty three minutes and scores thirty ten and seven. They needed every last bit of it to get back to the finals. In the finals, which they were, they had no chance. New Jersey was drawing dead against them. He averages twenty seven, six and five, including the key game of those finals was Game three. You're up two zero? Is it gonna be serious? Is it not? Kobe has thirty six, six and four. They win their third straight type. So that's Kobe. Bryan's twenty three years old, his three

time champion. Now I have won the finals MVP because Shack again refer to the Shack video. All he did over those three years in the finals was average thirty six and sixteen. But Kobe had a key moment in two thousand to win the championship, the game Shack fouled out of In two thousand and one, he was utterly fantastic, back to back forty five plus point games and then

kicked ass in the finals. And two thousand and two you could argue he was I don't think he was, but one could argue at that point he was third best player in the league. You could argue with Shaq Duncan Kobe, that's how good he was. So now let's go to two thousand and three. They're going for four in a row. Obviously, no one's won four in a

row since Russell Celtics. Nobody had been to four straight at that point in time since Bird Celtics right or the with the Celtics and the Lakers in the eighties did it. He's going for four in a row. For the playoffs. He averages thirty two to five and five in two thousand and three. That's the first playoffs he outplays yet he averages thirty two to five and five for the playoffs. He opened the playoffs with thirty nine, five and eight. Round two against San Antonio, he scores

thirty five four times, but they lose in six. In that playoff run. By the way, Shaq and Kobe combined per game sixty points, twenty rebounds, ten assist. The rest of the Lakers though we're not up to the task. That was, you know, Spurs were better. Spurs deserved to win, so instead of you know, going for a fourth straight, they're out in round two to San Antonio. The team was gash four. They're down two to one to the defending champion Spurs. In round two, Kobe has forty two,

six and five. That's his first forty point game since the back to back ones in the playoffs. That is that we just talked about No. One. He gets back to the finals beating Garnett and Minnesota in the Western Referends Finals, they lose to Detroit, and if we're being fairy, as a rough finals, he has one good game and their one win thirty three, four and seven, but for the finals averages twenty three points, three rebounds, four assists

on just thirty eight percent shooting. And now Shack's gone, and now it's a bit of a wasteland for a little bit. Oh five, they missed the playoffs in the middle of his prime. Not great. Six. This is a weird one because the six first round has a couple of his best moments and then his arguably worst moment

of his career. So six first round against Phoenix, Game four, he hits a layup to end regulation and force overtime, and a buzzer beater in overtime where he does the famous Michael Jordan pantomime fist pump celebration that puts them up three games to one. Game five, they lose. Game six, Kobe scores fifty fifty points, eight rebounds, five assists, but they lose in overtime. Game seven is the rough moment he's angry about. Game six, he scores fifty and they lose.

He scores twenty three in the first half, but only had one assists in that first half, and they're down twenty. They're down by fifteen. Something happened in a halftime in the locker room about Kobe needed to pass more so in the second half of that game, he refuses to shoot. In the second half of the game seven of a series, they were up three to one in where Kobe in a buzzer beater to win a game, a fifty point

game and a loss. Second half, he takes three shots, scores one point on a technical free throw, and they lose by twenty plus. So now it's shacks gone. You're missed. The playoffs out in round one. Now we're to seven Phoenix again in round one, down oh two, Kobe keeps them alive by scoring forty five, six and six, but they lose in five anyway, Kobe average thirty three to

five and four. Then there's the career crossroads, the famous you know he went on Steven A. Smiths radio show, floated that he wanted to be traded, trash them his teammates in that in that parking lot video, and the Lakers don't trade him. Instead, they trade four pal and now Boom. Kobe finally has a legitimate team around him. And what do they do? They make three straight finals

forty nine, four and ten. In game two of a Round one sweep of Carmelo and Ai in Denver averages thirty three, seven, seven, and Round two against Utah, scoring at least thirty three and five of the six games thirty nine points to get back to the finals and close out the Spurs again, the defending champions Spurs in the finals averages twenty six to five and five, including thirty six and seven, but Boston wins in six average thirty six and six for the playoffs thirty point six rebounds,

six a six. But he's back in the finals and obviously the next two years they would win the title. Well again his long career. We gotta go year by year on it OH nine for the playoff run averages thirty points, five rebound, six assists in Round one Game four against Utah thirty eight and six to go up three to one. Forty point game in game two of Round two against Houston. That was a weird series that Houston team had no business taking the Lakers seven, but

they did to the Lakers one in seven. Obviously magnificent in the Western Armends finals against Carmelo, Carmelo's best, only real chance to make the finals average thirty four, six and six, had two forty point games and a game of thirty five six and ten in those Western Conference finals. He opens the finals with forty points, eight rebounds, eight assists. He averages thirty two points per game for the series.

For his first finals MVP and I would argue, I think most people would argue the most important ring of his career up to that point, it tied Shack. That was a real rivalry at that point in time. It proved you could win it without Shack. But did Kobe Bryant rest. Oh No, of course not. Kobe Bryant won the type to rest. Very next year they win it again. So in round one they're playing the young Thunder. He has thirty two seven and three to beat OKC in game in game six, that was the pal tip end game.

That's another sliding doors moment. If Powell doesn't get that tip and that thing goes seven, does Oka se knockout the defending Champlainers. I don't know, but they don't. Kobe has thirty two seven and three. They get they escaping round one against Oksee. Round two they sweep Utah. Kobe scores thirty in all four games, or at least thirty. Opened the Western Armends finals with forty five and five against Phoenix, averages thirty four to seven and eight for

the series to get to his third straight finals. Second Diamon's career has been to three straight finals. Won his second tright finals MVP averages twenty nine, eight and four for the series. And yes, we all know he was six of twenty four in game seven, but the idea that someone else should have been finals MVP that year when he averaged twenty nine to eight and four was nuts. So from eight to twenty ten, made the finals all

three years, won two titles. His playoff averages across those three years thirty points, six rebounds, six assists, and then it's basically over. Twenty eleven, he's swept by Dallas in round two, averages twenty three points for the playoffs. Twenty twelve, he has one final burst in him final three playoff games of his career, playing the Thunder of twenty twelve,

the Thunder that would go on to the finals. He has thirty six, seven and six, thirty eight, eight and five, and is forty two point five rebounds zero assists in his final playoff game ever, which is a little fitting in a good way, similar to Kobe's final regular season game ever being the iconic sixty point game. And so that's the career so eighty eight career thirty point playoff

games that is the third most ever. Find on limj and Lebron thirteen career forty point playoff games that's the sixth most ever and a career playoff average of twenty six five and five for the sixth greatest player of the last fifty years, the Great, the late Great Kobe Bryant. Let's go to some Kobe Bryant caller before we wrap it up.

two championships, two finals. MVPs. Just me trying to imagine you going on first things first and not declaring he's the best player in the world, you know, and I know it would not happen, which is so fascinating because that is exactly what Kobe did from two thousand and eight to twenty ten. So yes, he was the best

player in the league. And I get Lebron historically is better and which took that torch from him, but in those three years, he was the best player in the league, and you got to give him some love for that. So that's a small little correction you gotta make. But appreciate you having a big dog high on this list. Rip to the black mamble.

in the mid eighties, Magic Johnson after that, Michael Jordan obviously in the early nineties, a Keem Olajuan, then back to Jordan. After Jordan that time, it was Shack, then Duncan. This is the part ty gets upset about. Then Lebron to Giannis. He argues that it went Duncan to Kobe to Lebron. He makes the point he makes that from eight to ten, the guy I have as the best player alive. Lebron won zero championships. Kobe won two of them.

I understand that that part of it. My issue is I think Lebron became the best player in the NBA in two thousand and seven at twenty two years old, when he carried that team to the NBA Finals with the forty eight special against Detroit. Now some would say, Nick, your bias towards Lebron. I don't think I am, but so be it. I will. The addendum I would have is this, if Lebron didn't actually become the best player in the league until twenty ten, then it would be

Kobe Bryant. Either way, there's a lot of guys on our list, on our top fifty, in our top fifteen, Durant Staph that also have not been best player alive. Hell, there's I'm trying to I don't want to spoil anything. I'm trying to think other guys that would be on here was super Isaiah Thomas, the top fifteen guy, never best player alive, So it's it wouldn't be bad company. But I understand what Ty is saying. Also, though I mentioned Duncan being the best player, we are also now

to the top five. We have not said Tim Duncan's name, and we just did Kobe's name, which means by definition, I've Duncan ahead of Kobe. Duncan will be coming up shortly on this list. It will cause massive consternation from folks that I've Duncan ahead of Kobe. We'll discuss that to wrap the show as another special episode of What's Right with Nick Right? The fifty Guards Players Last fifty Years continues right after this. All Right, welcome back in

What's Right with Nick Right? The special edition fifty Guarys Players the Last fifty Years. We just gave you number six Kobe Bryant, So that means the five people left on the list, and I'll try to just say them alphabetically would be Kareem Abdul Jabbar. I gotta think of who they are and how the alphabet works, Lebron James, Magic Johnson, uh No, I forgot how the alphabet works. Michael Jordan, and Tim Duncan. Those are your five guys. There is a lot of a hotly contested debate is

Kobe or Duncan. We have a caller that wants to chime in on that and might give you a little sneak preview into some of our Duncan stuff coming up in the weeks ahead. Here's the caller, Heynick.

you of the situation that Kobe was walking into. He had to win that first three championships with Shaquille O'Neal, who constant battles between who is number one of that team? Whose team it was, you know, which ended in Shack leaving.

by the greatest coach of all time, Greg Popovich. So let's look at that stability versus all the hurdles that Kobe Bryant had to overcome to have the same amount of championships.

was Phil Jackson is outrageous. And to act like going to a team with Shaquille O'Neil was a detriment as opposed to a guaranteed finals birth, which gave Kobe so much to the experience, and as we just discussed how great he was, particularly Oh one to O two finals. It's just nonsense. They just total and utter revisionist history nonsense. I'm not saying it's nonsense to say you think Kobe's ahead of Duncan. I obviously disagree, but that those arguments

fall on deaf years. To me, Tim Duncan will be showing up shortly in our series, and I think I might be able to prove to America why having him as one of the five best players of the last fifty years is not an overreach at all. We'll talk to you guys about that next week as we continue our countdown of the fifty greatest players of the last fifty years. On what's right